Oral ← Oral Questions

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Questions

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office · 27 October 2026 · Hansard transcript

Questions

• GREEN (78/100) Lisa Smart

  1. What recent discussions he has had with European allies on tackling foreign interference in democratic processes internationally.

• AMBER (42/100) Lisa Smart

  I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for those remarks, but with Russian-linked interference operations continuing to target democratic elections across Europe, does he feel that the current arrangements are sufficient? He will know that the European democracy shield is developing new structures to co-ordinate action against foreign interference and disinformation, so what discussions has he had with our European partners about ensuring that the UK is fully involved in those efforts, including the proposed European centre for democratic resilience, so that we can better identify and respond to Russian attempts to undermine democratic elections across Europe?

• RED (20/100) Gordon McKee

  For a decade we have rightly been worried about the impact of misinformation on social media fuelled by hostile foreign states, but now millions of people get their information from AI chatbots. What work is the Secretary of State doing with European allies to protect the information provided by AI systems during elections here and overseas?

• RED (20/100) Sir Julian Lewis

  Does the Foreign Secretary accept that it would be a disservice to the democratic process to identify attempts to interfere with it with invalidation of the result? Does he, like the Prime Minister, now accept that whatever Russia tried to do, it did not have any decisive effect on the referendum on whether to stay in or leave the European Union?

• RED (20/100) Perran Moon

  Meur ras ha myttin da, Mr Speaker. Last Wednesday, Georgia’s constitutional court began hearings on a lawsuit brought by the ruling Georgian Dream party seeking to ban the country’s five main opposition parties. At a time when external authoritarian actors seek to undermine democratic institutions across Europe, what steps are the Government taking with our European allies to respond to the deterioration of democracy in Georgia?

• RED (6/100) Alicia Kearns

  Moscow ships stalk our cables, Tehran’s agents seek to assassinate on our soil, and last week the Pentagon declared Confucius institutes a threat to our national security. In stark contrast, the powers I secured to allow these weapons of the Chinese Communist party to be closed here in the UK were scrapped by this Government. Does the Foreign Secretary think that Washington has got it wrong, and if not, will the powers be reinstated and deployed? While he is at it, will he expel every Iranian official with links to the Ministry of Intelligence and Security and bring our allies together to freeze Russian and Belarusian tourist visas to protect us from their use to attack our country?

• RED (18/100) Calum Miller

  Foreign money can be used to influence politics through sport. On 17 December last year, the Government gave Roman Abramovich 90 days to hand over the proceeds of the sale of Chelsea football club to benefit Ukrainians— 314 days later, that has still not happened. What is holding the Government back from enforcing their own legal contract with Mr Abramovich through the courts? When might Ukrainians who are fearful about the winter see some of that money? In the light of this and questions over the ownership of Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour, what conversations has the Foreign Secretary had with the Prime Minister or the Culture Secretary about ensuring that overseas investors are fit and proper persons to own English clubs?

• RED (18/100) John Cooper

  2. What assessment he has made of future levels of uranium enrichment planned by Iran.

• RED (20/100) John Cooper

  Iran is tiptoeing towards a bomb. It is an existential threat for our friend and ally Israel. I cannot understand how glad-handing the despotic Tehranian regime and making fake TikTok videos in New York helps world peace. Surely we can do more.

• GREEN (86/100) George Freeman

  3. What assessment his Department has made of the level of strategic importance of the polar regions.

• AMBER (30/100) George Freeman

  It is good to be back. Given the accelerating rate of Arctic sea ice melt, we are not many years away from an ice-free summer in the Arctic, with huge implications for sea levels, ocean currents and weather systems, and growing commercial pressures for exploitation in the Arctic. Having been the Minister with responsibility for the British Antarctic Survey, I am delighted again to be chairing the APPG for the polar regions and to have joined the Minister at the Arctic Circle Assembly. Does she agree that in both the Arctic and the Antarctic, we are on the frontline of not only some very important science for global planetary sustainability, but geo-diplomacy and technology, with an increasing wild west, which this country has a major role to play in helping to regulate and convene good players in?

• AMBER (32/100) Jessica Toale

  Yesterday I visited the National Oceanography Centre, with the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), to learn about the UK’s leadership in polar science, and the real highlight was that I got to meet Boaty McBoatface. Will the Minister tell us a bit more about how the FCDO is co-ordinating cross-Government work to deal with emerging climate and security threats, as well as how we can leverage the UK’s leadership in science and technology, climate finance, diplomacy and defence to that end?

• RED (18/100) Wendy Morton

  We hear warnings from allies about China’s Arctic ambitions, and the risk of Beijing and Moscow dominating emerging shipping routes. China is an Arctic Council observer, and two Chinese nationals were arrested in Norway in May on suspicion of espionage. What concrete action is the Minister and the Foreign Secretary taking with Norway and our NATO allies to protect Britain’s security, trade and undersea infrastructure from hostile Chinese activity, and to prevent research and investment becoming cover for Beijing’s Arctic mission?

• GREEN (80/100) Dr Rosena Allin-Khan

  16. What steps his Department is taking to oppose the expansion of illegal settlements in the west bank.

• RED (15/100) Rachel Taylor

  The Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din has found that between 2005 and 2023 more than 93% of investigations into settler violence in the west bank were closed without indictment, with just 3% resulting in convictions. With the olive harvest underway, Palestinian farmers continue to face threats from settler violence. Will the Minister update the House on what steps the Government are taking to protect Palestinian farmers and ensure that those responsible for violence are held to account?

• AMBER (52/100) Nesil Caliskan

  Thank you, Mr Speaker. I welcome the Government’s new sanctions to address illegal settlement expansion in the west bank. We have all watched in great horror as Palestinians face injustice and ethnic cleansing. Indeed, a Human Rights Watch report found that Israeli forces had committed war crimes in the west bank. Will the Secretary of State stand by his words to this House, as I am sure that he will, not only to call out injustice and suffering, but to act? With that in mind, will the Government sanction Israeli Defence Minister Katz and Major General Bluth, who are implicated in these crimes?

• AMBER (35/100) Janet Daby

  I thank the Secretary of State for his responses so far. The E1 scheme is a further terrifying situation for Palestinians, who are vulnerable and have no protections. Will he say what sanctions are being put in place at present? What more are the Government doing to ensure that those working on the E1 scheme are sanctioned?

• AMBER (62/100) Dr Rosena Allin-Khan

  As we speak right now, Israel is yet again pursuing its brutal policy of collective punishment in the west bank, with Hebron sealed off and more than 1,000 people due to have their homes demolished imminently. I welcome our Government boldly placing sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements. With Israelis going to the polls today, will the Secretary of State commit to maintaining the pressure until illegal settlement expansion ends once and for all and we can truly see the two-state solution that we all dream of?

• AMBER (30/100) Sarah Green

  The Foreign Secretary mentions people running the risk of the full force of the sanctions regime, given the new powers that the Government have to sanction companies funding and building illegal settlements. The E1 tenders will open on 19 November. Will he commit to sanctioning those companies bidding before that date, not once the bulldozers arrive?

• AMBER (25/100) Chris Law

  The Foreign Secretary pledged to take action against specific companies that provide services for settlement expansion in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Delek Group, which supports illegal settlements through the provision of refuelling services to Israeli military vehicles and the operation of fuel stations in East Jerusalem and the west bank, has been flagged by the UN for human rights concerns and could receive more than £200 million in revenue through its majority stake in Ithaca Energy if the Rosebank field is approved. Given that the Foreign Secretary has already said that approval of Rosebank would be “climate vandalism”, what does he have to say about profits from Scotland’s oil supporting illegal settlement expansion in the west bank?

• AWAITING REVIEW Manuela Perteghella

  Alongside the expansion of illegal settlements, as we have heard, there has been growing concern about violence perpetrated by extremist settlers against Palestinian communities in the west bank. Does the Secretary of State believe that the UK’s current response is sufficient, and what further steps is he prepared to take to hold those responsible to account?

• AMBER (30/100) Dr Ellie Chowns

  On 14 October, the UN’s international commission of inquiry on the OPT and Israel published its latest report. I quote paragraph 43, which concludes that “Israeli military operations in the West Bank since 7 October 2023 constitute a course of conduct that forms part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population” and states that “sexual and gender-based violence” and targeted attacks against children form part of that co-ordinated action on the part of the Israeli military. This is not just settler terrorism; it is action by the current Israeli Government. Has the Secretary of State read that report of the independent international commission of inquiry? Does he recognise its conclusions? How can he continue to treat the current Israeli Government as an ally in that context, and what further action will he take to ensure that the UK is not complicit in these abuses?

• AMBER (56/100) Dr Simon Opher

  Just over a year ago, I and my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Dr Prinsley) were detained and then deported by Israeli authorities as we tried to enter the west bank. Yesterday, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South (Clive Lewis), the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry (Lara Bird), and the former MP Sam Tarry were similarly detained by Israeli authorities for eight hours while they tried to enter the west bank. Will the Secretary of State join me in condemning these cases and outline what steps the Government will take to ensure that MPs can visit the occupied west bank without obstruction or intimidation?

• RED (20/100) John Milne

  The Government have declared the occupation unlawful, and their measures on settlements depend on reliable evidence of what is happening on the ground. In April, the Foreign Office unit that tracked potential breaches of international law by Israel was closed because of cuts, with the work said to pass to a “different team”. Which team now does that work, and how many officials does it have?

• GREEN (78/100) Dr Allison Gardner

  6. What discussions he has had with European partners on defence and security.

• RED (10/100) Dr Allison Gardner

  The attack on the then British Prime Minister’s home last year was linked to Russian-backed proxies attempting to undermine our democracy, and it concerns me deeply that our nation has become so anaesthetised by online disinformation that we collectively shrugged and carried on doomscrolling. I commend the creation of a national centre for information defence to counter cognitive warfare, but given the continued threat of Russian cognitive warfare, may I ask the Foreign Secretary how we can co-operate with European partners to counter disinformation, shut down the networks and hold technology companies to account?

• RED (20/100) Sir Andrew Mitchell

  In the discussions that the Foreign Secretary is holding with European countries, is he also emphasising the vital role that soft power and the international development budget play in promoting security? Does he realise that since this Government’s cuts in spending on international development, we now allocate less for Africa from the development budget than we allocate to UK postcodes from that same budget for first-year asylum seeker costs?

• RED (22/100) Emily Thornberry

  I learnt a great deal during my trip to Ukraine last month. I learnt that the Ukrainians see themselves as Europeans, that they know who their friends are and that they are incredibly grateful to Britain, but that they are also very disappointed as they hit this very difficult winter. We know that they will need about £90 billion to get through it. There are £200 billion-worth of Russian assets frozen in Europe; what can we in Britain do to ensure that those assets are unlocked and used in Ukraine? Might one answer be to lead by example? Is there something we can do about the £25 billion-worth of Russian assets that we have in the UK and—as we head towards the anniversary of Abramovich’s being told that he had to hand them over—the £2.5 billion-worth of Chelsea assets?

• AMBER (34/100) Mark Pritchard

  The Prime Minister told President Zelensky recently that he stood “in complete solidarity” with Ukraine over President Trump’s dirty diesel deal over Russian diesel exports, and I support the Prime Minister on that. Earlier, the Foreign Secretary mentioned hitting Russia in the pocket, so why are his Government still importing jet fuel and diesel, albeit through other countries? They have weakened the sanctions against Russian diesel and fuel, which I would suggest is a complete inconsistency in UK foreign policy.

• AMBER (30/100) David Reed

  In recent months, our European allies have become increasingly forthright in publicly naming hostile states responsible for attacks on their countries, yet Britain appears reluctant to do the same, even though the Foreign Secretary has spoken very clearly about hybrid war. Over the weekend, it was reported that the crippling cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover was state sponsored. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that failing to publicly attribute such attacks only emboldens our adversaries and, more importantly, will he now name the state believed to be responsible for this unprecedented attack on British industry?

• RED (4/100) Calum Miller

  Our defence and our economy are closely tied, and both depend on our relationship with our closest neighbours. The Prime Minister wants to have an “honest conversation” with the public about Brexit, and that begins with an honest assessment of its damage. The Conservatives’ hard Brexit is costing the Treasury up to £90 billion a year in lost tax revenues. The biggest lever we could pull to reverse that damage would be to join the single market and a customs union. That would deliver the revenues we need to cut taxes, grow our defence spending and invest in public services. The Prime Minister wants us to be led by evidence, so are the Government conducting their own impact assessment into the benefits of joining the single market and a customs union? If not, why not, and if so, can the Foreign Secretary confirm when it will be published?

• GREEN (80/100) Wendy Chamberlain

  7. What support his Department is providing to Afghan women and girls.

• AMBER (30/100) Wendy Chamberlain

  During Evidence Week, I met Dr Sara Polo to discuss violence against women and girls in conflict areas, including Afghanistan. Although many aspects of the national action plan on women, peace and security are encouraging, academics such as Dr Polo have pointed out that there are areas for improvement, such as including victims of non-sexual violence in NAP initiatives. What discussions has the Minister had with academics about the NAP, and how can academics engage further?

• RED (4/100) Sarah Champion

  It is not just Afghanistan where we see a rollback in the protection of women and girls. Last week, I was in Sierra Leone, working with parliamentarians there to try to prevent sexual-based violence. As part of that trip, we went to the maternal health unit in Freetown, where the UK has been supporting the health industry for the last 20 years. We cut all of our funding to that last year, which means there is now no money for procurement or for any healthcare in that country. What are we going to do for countries where we have cut all our funding to help them transition in a meaningful way, rather than presenting them, basically, with a death sentence?

• GREEN (82/100) Douglas McAllister

  8. What diplomatic steps he is taking to support UK nationals arbitrarily detained abroad.

• GREEN (80/100) Douglas McAllister

  My West Dunbartonshire constituent Jagtar Singh Johal was released on bail 26 days ago, but Jagtar is by no means free. While he may have walked out of Tihar jail, having endured 3,254 days of illegal detention, torture and abuse, he still cannot return home to his family in Dumbarton, and still faces eight outstanding cases and the death penalty. Over the last 26 days, has the Minister escalated Jagtar’s case to the highest diplomatic level?

• RED (14/100) Sir Iain Duncan Smith

  British citizens Ryan Cornelius and his partner have now been detained for 18—nearly 19—years, without due process, by the United Arab Emirates. The reality is that the UAE supports a huge amount of terrorism in Sudan, where it is responsible for huge loss of life. To make matters worse, it has nominated Lana Nusseibeh of the UAE to be UN Secretary-General. Apart from demanding the release of Ryan Cornelius and his partner, will the hon. Gentleman condemn the UAE for its brutal involvement in Sudan, and block its nominee for Secretary-General, who should never be allowed to take over the UN?

• RED (18/100) Lincoln Jopp

  When President Trump met Xi Jinping last month, the US President raised with the Chairman the case of imprisoned British citizen Jimmy Lai. Has the Minister had a readout from that conversation, and what can he tell us about his own efforts to bring about Jimmy Lai’s release?

• GREEN (88/100) David Williams

  21. What steps his Department is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Palestine and Gaza.

• AMBER (70/100) Warinder Juss

  Palestinian children are the only children in the world who are systematically prosecuted in military courts. Those courts do not meet juvenile justice standards, and Save the Children has found that at every stage of detention, from arrest to interrogation, transfer and incarceration, Israeli soldiers and officials have inflicted physical, mental and emotional abuse and torture on children. What action are this Government taking, with our international partners, to prevent the abuse of well over 300 Palestinian children who are currently being held in Israeli military detention?

• AMBER (55/100) David Williams

  Given the scale of civilian suffering in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, can the Minister please outline what discussions have taken place and will take place with international partners to ensure that international humanitarian law is upheld, and that humanitarian workers can work safely?

• RED (22/100) Monica Harding

  Three hundred and forty children in Gaza have died since the ceasefire of last year—an average of almost one per day—nearly half of them near the yellow line; aid workers call it the kill zone. UNICEF tells me that 100% of children are showing signs of stress because of trauma, hunger and the risk of attack from every side— from drones, which fire at them from above, and from unexploded ordinance below them. They face malnutrition, and have not had a formal education for three years. Whoever is elected today, what will the Foreign Secretary do to ensure that Palestinian children are protected, sustainable humanitarian aid gets in, the terms of the ceasefire are obeyed, education is provided, and Palestinians are given the chance to heal?

• AMBER (55/100) Vikki Slade

  My hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding) talked about the impact on children, but there is also a significant impact on reproductive facilities, which means that there are more miscarriages and more children dying at birth. Effectively, it is the erasing of the next generation in Gaza. That must surely constitute a war crime. How are the Government working with international partners to ensure the future of Gaza, given the threat of there being no children?

• AMBER (28/100) Seamus Logan

  11. What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of UNICEF UK’s “No Choice But Childhood” campaign.

• AMBER (30/100) Seamus Logan

  A significant number of my constituents have written to me expressing support for UNICEF’s “No Choice But Childhood” campaign. When reductions are made to the UK’s aid budget, it is the most vulnerable children around the world who face the consequences of that decision first. Will the Secretary of State or the Minister commit to working with UNICEF to increase funding in the aid budget for children at this critical point? Conflict is increasing around the world, yet so many countries are decreasing their aid for those in conflicts.

• AMBER (56/100) Alice Macdonald

  In Afghanistan, children, particularly girls, simply cannot enjoy their childhood. This summer marked a grim anniversary: it is five years since the Taliban began an assault on women and girls, banning girls from education. We have to stand with Afghan women and girls. Will we support calls from Afghan women to recognise gender apartheid as a crime against humanity, and will the Minister, or the relevant Minister, meet me, other MPs and, importantly, Afghan women to discuss what more can be done?

• AMBER (35/100) Bradley Thomas

  T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

• AMBER (64/100) Bradley Thomas

  Last year, the Intelligence and Security Committee concluded that Iran poses a widespread, persistent and unpredictable threat, and the director of MI5 has reported that the intelligence services have tracked at least 20 serious plots linked to Iran. Can the Secretary of State update the House on the Government’s assessment of the domestic threat posed by Iran? What diplomatic steps are being taken to tackle it?

• RED (22/100) Tom Tugendhat

  Mr Speaker, I hope you will indulge me as I say a very quick thank you to the Clerk of the House, who is in his place and who was my Clerk on the Foreign Affairs Committee. He is probably more to blame for me standing here today than many other people in the House. May I ask the Foreign Secretary whether he now accepts the Bill in the name of Lord Weir that has passed in the Lords?

• AMBER (30/100) Tom Tugendhat 50% point-scoring

  I thank the Foreign Secretary for his comments. The reason I asked about the vote in the Lords is this: there seems to be a real problem with the way that we approach this debate. The will of Parliament, as expressed in the Lords only last week and in treaties signed in the ’60s and ’80s, is being superseded by courts that have no mandate over the issues that are being debated. I ask him again: does he accept the will of this Parliament—the elected will of the British people—or does he instead seek to accept the now politicised will of courts that have Russian and Chinese judges, and are fundamentally mis-shaping and distorting agreements that were signed decades ago? We have seen what China has done, from locking up Jimmy Lai to threatening the Marine reserves that he claims to champion. Whose side is the Foreign Secretary on?

• RED (20/100) Dame Chi Onwurah

  T5. While knocking on doors in Denton Burn in Newcastle on Saturday, a resident said to me that we see these terrible images of families putting children on to small boats and of floods, wars and droughts all around the world, but we never hear what Britain is doing to help people stay and flourish where they are. I thought, “Well, he’s right actually.” Could the Secretary of State tell us what is the most successful or effective thing that the Department is doing to reduce migratory pressures?

• RED (5/100) John Cooper

  T7. The Foreign Office facilitated a trip to Dublin for the Scottish First Minister, John Swinney. There, he met the egregious Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Féin to discuss the break-up of Britain. Why are British taxpayers paying for such nonsense?

• AMBER (72/100) Dame Harriett Baldwin

  T9. Given the increasing evidence of hybrid attacks by Russia on British targets, will the Foreign Secretary rule out shaking hands with Sergey Lavrov at the upcoming G20?

• RED (8/100) Ben Obese-Jecty

  I have had a great deal of trouble getting a straight answer from the Government on this for some months now, so I will give it one more go: on what specific date in August 2024 was Jonathan Powell appointed as the Prime Minister’s special envoy to the British Indian Ocean Territory?

• AMBER (62/100) Robert Jenrick

  The Foreign Secretary and I represent communities 15 miles apart—decent, hard-working people who are finding life very tough at the moment. In that context, how would he justify to working people and pensioners spending £6 billion on foreign aid while freezing the tax-free personal allowance and cutting the state pension? [Interruption.]

• GREEN (90/100) Graham Stuart

  His trial was unfair, and the 20-year sentence extension was arbitrary and outrageous—will the Secretary of State now unequivocally say that Ryan Cornelius should be released?

• AMBER (30/100) Richard Burgon

  As winter bites and the humanitarian situation worsens, will the Secretary of State commit to supplying food aid to Gaza, at least to last year’s levels? Will he use his welcome new sanctions regulations, laid earlier this month, to sanction those Israeli figures blocking aid from getting into Gaza?

• AMBER (38/100) Mr Lee Dillon

  What role will the Secretary of State’s Department play in the new national centre for information defence, and when will the Government update the House about the composition, roll-out and scalability of that new capability?